Lt Gen al-Saadi said the dossier, covering 800 sites, was an "honest, truthful and comprehensive" account of Iraq's weapons programmes.

It had been thought that Dr Blix would first have the document analysed by his experts, edited to take out any potentially dangerous material like the details of Iraqi work on a nuclear bomb and only then handed over to members of the Security Council.

However, Security Council resolution 1441 says that the Council should get the declaration along with the UN Monitoring, Verification and Inspection Commission (Unmovic) and the IAEA.

A compromise appears to have been reached under which the five permanent members, who already possess nuclear bombs, are getting the full version.